All the neighborhood kids had bikes. Pretty sure mine was a Sears model with solid rubber tires. So I could always lay down a skid on the hill and not worry about blowing out. Then by the time I was in high school, Breaking Away was big. So I got more serious. Bought a 10 speed and over the next couple years rebuilt it. Helps that I started going to college that had a great bike shop near. Also started commuting by bike as it was quicker than the bus, even in winter. And the time spent riding in a storm seemed less dangerous than the mile plus walk to the bus stop.
Not sure how, but in about 1983/84 found out about mountain bikes and got one. Of course it spent most of the time commuting, but did race and explore trails. Basically doing back then what Rivendell started promoting later. There have been a number of years where I didn't bike and even now my miles are a lot less than they used to be. But still enjoy it. (Oh, and I definitely don't consider myself a bikey.) Eric Platt St. Paul, MN On Friday, September 3, 2021 at 5:07:04 PM UTC-5 [email protected] wrote: > My parents were mot rich, they got me a Columbia fat tired bike from S&W > green stamps when I was 13 or so and I was in heaven. The bike got put > away when in HS but in my Sr. year of college I bought a Giro D’Italia. I > was in heaven. It took me 2 more years to really ride it, why, well I quit > my job and started my graduate work part time in 1975, rode all that summer > because I liked it, usually 40+ miles a day in converse sneakers, short cut > offs and no shirt, no spare, no water, never thought about it. The next > summer I did the same thing before heading out to St. Louis to finish my > masters. I’ve been riding ever since when physical limitations do not get > in the way. > > On Friday, September 3, 2021 at 5:45:53 PM UTC-4 Jack Doran wrote: > >> >> Being newly unemployed and poor, newly single and heartbroken during the >> great recession. Set up a freecycled, cheap aluminum rear rack on my Surly >> Cross Check, bungee corded a car camping sleeping bag, pad, and tent to it, >> and rode up to a spot I knew in Tilden where I figured nobody would bother >> me if I spent the night. The next morning, I couldn't understand why >> everyone didn't do this. >> >> Can we bring "bikey" back? I've read posts by Jobst Brandt where he uses >> it, but I haven't heard it anywhere else. >> On Friday, September 3, 2021 at 1:48:18 PM UTC-7 Joe Bernard wrote: >> >>> Will has an interesting post in the the recent Riv Newsletter about how >>> he and some friends first noticed bikes and got into them. After your >>> initial foray as a kid with a bike, what was the thing that made you notice >>> them later and turn you into an adult-person-cyclist? >>> >>> Mine is similar to Will's as a young man in Los Angeles, except it was >>> the flashy riders in "tight clothes" I picked up on. I vividly recall being >>> stopped on Pacific Coast Highway somewhere south of Long Beach (probably on >>> a motorcycle) and watching all the roadies go by, this would be early '80s. >>> This one guy went by on a green (actually celeste blue, but I didn't know >>> that at the time) Bianchi with matching bar tape and riding gear. That was >>> the moment I - a car and motorcycle nut - realized bicycles were a thing, >>> too. A very cool thing, and you got a workout in the process! >>> >>> I was hooked, what hooked you? >>> >>> Joe Bernard >>> >> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/66f3c701-9b99-4542-b302-4b42b914af90n%40googlegroups.com.
